The Ethanol Maze

Prices at the pump are putting pressure on our pocketbooks, the economy and America's foreign policy. And steadily increasing gas prices have forced most of us, as well as our politicians, to look closely at alternative biofuels such as ethanol. In The Ethanol Maze, NET Television navigates the complex questions surrounding the ethanol industry: the affect ethanol production has on food prices, the energy expended to manufacture it and if ethanol is a short-term energy solution that could create additional long-term problems. The Ethanol Maze tracks a corn growing season with a Nebraska farmer who hopes the push toward more biofuel production will boost corn prices. We also take a look at alternative fuels research at the Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago. And we travel to northern California to hear from biofuel opponents who say biofuels efforts are taking away from investment toward what's really needed in the pursuit of bettering the environment -- moving away from internal combustion engines.